Impressive Turnout Of Aircraft For Dubai Airshow

United Arab Emirates (UAE) company Calidus is to introduce a new Super Tucano-class light-attack aircraft, listed by the show organizers as the B-250 Bader. This is believed to be a tandem-seat, turboprop-powered derivative of Brazilian company Novaer’s T-Xc (inset)—a piston-powered two-seat trainer and four-seat general-aviation aircraft that is also to be displayed by Calidus.

China’s Chengdu J-10 fighter will make its Dubai debut, the “August 1st Air Demonstration Team” of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force flying both the early-model J-10A and two-seat J-10S. The F-16-class single-engine canard-delta fighter has previously appeared internationally at the 2013 MAKS show in Moscow and 2015 LIMA show in Malaysia.

Touted as a low-cost alternative to expensive unmanned aircraft for surveillance and strike, Air Tractor’s AT-802U is a rugged agricultural turboprop that has been turned into a two-seat light-attack aircraft that can carry a payload up to 8,000 lb. and fly for up to 10 hr. The UAE Special Operations Command flies armed AT-802s. 

Antonov is listed as bringing the An-70 to Dubai, as the Ukrainian manufacturer looks for customers in the Middle East and elsewhere to restart the long-stalled airlifter program. Similar in size to the Airbus A400M, the four-propfan aircraft first flew in 1994, but only two have been built. Antonov is now proposing an upgraded An-77 variant.

Alongside the Cirrus SR22 operated by its flight training academy, Dubai-based Emirates Airline is listed by the show organizers as displaying the U.S. manufacturer’s SF50 Vision Jet. Cirrus began deliveries of the single-engine personal jet in December and says it has deposits in hand for more than 600. The company is aiming to produce 100 or more a year.

Austria’s Diamond Aircraft Industries is bringing a strong lineup to the Dubai Airshow, with the DART-450 all-composite turboprop trainer/reconnaissance aircraft making its show debut. The DART-450 flew for the first time in May 2016. Diamond will also display the single-engine DA50 and its four-seat DA42 and seven-seat DA62 turbodiesel twins. 

Germany’s Grob Aircraft is displaying both its G120TP turboprop basic trainer and the unique G520T high-altitude reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft. The G120TP began training UK military pilots in August as the Prefect, while Grob is developing the updated G520NG with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67A turboprop, replacing the original Honeywell TPE331. 

Iomax developed the Archangel surveillance/attack aircraft for the UAE Air Force and Air Defense, using the rugged Thrush S2R-660 agricultural aircraft as the basis. The aircraft has a new tandem-seat crew station with Esterline CMC Electronics Cockpit 4000 displays, 1,600-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67F turboprop, L3 Wescam MX15i sensor turret, and it can carry an array of precision weapons. 

Kawasaki’s C-2 airlifter will make its international show debut in Dubai amid reports that the UAE has expressed interest in the twin-turbofan transport aircraft. The C-2 entered service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in mid-2016, and a sale to the UAE could mark Japan’s first sale of military aircraft since its ban on defense exports was lifted in 2014. 

Ukraine’s Motor Sich will display the upgraded Mil Mi-8MSB-T medium helicopter. The upgrade replaces the widely used Mi-8’s Klimov TV2-117 turboshafts with its own TV3-117VMA- SBM1V Series 4E engines, increasing hot-and-high performance, one-engine-inoperative power and reliability. Motor Sich will also display an upgraded Mi-2 helicopter.

Amid unconfirmed media reports of Middle East interest in the lightweight fighter, Pakistan will display the JF-17 Thunder at Dubai. The single-engine fighter was developed by China’s Chengdu Aircraft and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, where aircraft for the Pakistan Air Force are produced. A more advanced JF-17 Block 3 with active, array radar is planned.

Sudan’s Safat Aviation Group is no newcomer to the Dubai Airshow; its first attendance was in 2013, but its Safat 02 light helicopter and Safat 03 basic trainer will return this year. The 02 is a Ukrainian Aerocopter AK1-2, a two-seat piston-powered helicopter, while the 02 is based on the Yugoslavian UTVA 75. 

With Russian media asserting the UAE could announce an order for the powerful fighter at the show, Sukhoi will display the Su-35 at Dubai. The signing of a preliminary agreement for 24 aircraft was reported in February, but has not been confirmed. The Su-35 is the latest member of the Su-27 Flanker family, with phased-array radar, thrust-vectoring engines and other upgrades. 

One of the most significant aircraft programs in the Middle East will make its debut in the region at Dubai. The An-132D transport is being developed by Antonov and Saudi Arabia’s Taqnia Aeronautics and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. A modernized and Westernized development of the An-32, the An-132D is to be produced in Ukraine and Saudi Arabia, targeting a global market for 300 aircraft. 

Against a background of previous interest from Bahrain and Jordan, and negotiations underway with Pakistan, Turkish Aerospace Industries’ (TAI) T129 ATAK combat helicopter will make its debut at the show. Based on the Leonardo A129, the T129 is in production for the Turkish Army. TAI will also display its Hurkus turboprop trainer, Anka-S unmanned aircraft and a mockup of its T625 utility helicopter.